PC-BSD® Forums/10.1

The PC-BSD® Forums[1] contain a wealth of information, tips and solutions which you can access from a web browser. There are many active members and you will find that most questions are replied to quickly. If you are having problems with something on your PC-BSD® system, try using the forum's search utility. You will often find that someone else has posted a similar question and that other users have responded with a fix or a how-to.

The Forums have been categorized, allowing users to skim through the categories that interest them while learning some things along the way. You do not have to create a login account in order to search or read through the forums. However, if you wish to ask or answer a question on a forum or subscribe to a forum or a thread (to be automatically notified when a new post is added), you will need to be logged in. To subscribe to a forum, open the page for the forum and select Forum Tools → Subscribe to this Forum. You will be prompted to choose how often to be notified whenever a post is added to the forum. If you wish to subscribe to a specific post, open the post and select Thread Tools → Subscribe to this Thread. You will be notified whenever someone responds to that post.

The current categories and the forum descriptions are described below:

The General category contains the following forums:

Announcements[2]: contains announcements of new releases and news related to PC-BSD®. Subscribing to this forum is a good way to keep up-to-date with the latest news about PC-BSD®.

General Questions[3]: use this forum if your question does not fit into any of the other forum categories.

The Lounge[4]: this is a general discussion area for PC-BSD® users. Posts in this forum are not of a technical nature. Posts should be of interest to other PC-BSD® users and not contain any mature or slanderous content.

The PC-BSD® Software category allows developers to become aware of any problems with current PBIs or software installed using pkgng and to receive requests for software that should be made into a PBI. If you start a post in any of these forums, subscribe to it so you can be notified of any responses to your post. The forums in this category include:

PBI Discussion[10]: a general discussion area for resolving PBI problem reports. If you have a problem installing or using a PBI, post the details in this forum.

PBI Requests[11]: do you have a favorite application that is not currently available as a PBI? You can request it in this forum. Be sure to read the Readme first[12] post if this is your first PBI request.

Finished PBIs[13]: once a new PBI is created as the result of a PBI request, the original request is moved to this forum.

Port Requests[14]: do you have a favorite application that is not currently available as a FreeBSD port? You can request it here. If someone does make a port it can also be converted into a PBI, as PBIs are based on FreeBSD ports. Again, read the Readme first[15] file if this is your first port request.

pkgng Discussion[16]: if you have problems installing software using pkgng or running an application installed using pkgng, post the details here.

The Support category deals with the following types of support questions. PC-BSD® developers are subscribed to this list so they can help determine what is causing the problem, and if a fix is made available, can commit it for the next version of PC-BSD®. If you start a post in any of these forums, subscribe to it so you can be notified of any responses to your post.

General Bug Reports[18]: if you are not sure if the problem you are seeing is a bug, you can discuss it here first before reporting it to bugs.pcbsd.org.

Installing PC-BSD®[19]: if you are having problems installing PC-BSD®, post the details of your problem to this forum.

The Hardware Support category is for reporting hardware-related problems. PC-BSD® developers are subscribed to this list so they can help determine what is causing the problem, and if a fix is made available, can commit it for the next version of PC-BSD®. If you start a post in any of these forums, subscribe to it so you can be notified of any responses to your post. Be sure to read the README first[24] before posting.

General Support[25]: if your hardware problem does not match any of the other forum categories, post the details of your problem in this forum.

Graphics Cards[26]: if you are having problems with your video card settings, post the details of your problem to this forum.

Sound and Multimedia[27]: if you are having problems with sound or in playing multimedia such as CDs or videos, post the details of your problem to this forum.

Networking[28]: if you are having problems using or configuring a network interface, post the details of your problem to this forum.

Laptops[29]: if you are having problems with power management or other laptop-specific issues, post the details of your problem to this forum.

Drives[30]: if you are having problems accessing or formatting CD, DVD, USB or hard drives, post the details of your problem to this forum.

PC-BSD® Installer[35]: this is a discussion area for feature requests and testing of the PC-BSD® installation program.

The Testing category is for PC-BSD® beta testers to report problems found in upcoming versions of PC-BSD®. It contains the following forums:

General Testing[36]: if your problem is not related to one of the following desktop environments, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read the sticky threads first as they contain useful information about beta testing and any known issues with the testing snapshot.

KDE[37]: if your problem is related to the KDE desktop or KDE applications, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[38] for instructions before posting.

Gnome[39]: if your problem is related to the GNOME desktop or GNOME applications, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[40] for instructions before posting.

XFCE[41]: if your problem is related to the XFCE desktop, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[42] for instructions before posting.

LXDE[43]: if your problem is related to the LXDE desktop, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[44] for instructions before posting.

Fluxbox[45]: if your problem is related to the Fluxbox desktop, report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[46] for instructions before posting.

Ports Testers[47]: if your problem is related to a FreeBSD package or port, you can report the problem in this forum. Be sure to read README first[48] for instructions before posting.

The Hardware Compatibility category contains forums to help users determine if their hardware is compatible with PC-BSD®. It contains the following forums:

The Server Administration category contains forums for discussing system administrative tasks system administration topics and questions for PC-BSD®, TrueOS®, FreeBSD, and Warden®. It contains the following forums:

The International category contains forums for non-English speakers for PC-BSD® related discussions in their native language. Each forum has its own categories for organizing posts. The following forums are available:

While logged into the forums, a link called "UserCP" will appear in the upper left hand corner. This is your control panel and it contains many settings to customize your forums experience. You should review the settings in your Control Panel.

Before asking a question on the forums or starting a new thread, first use the search utility to see if a similar thread already exists. If one does, you can add to the conversation by using the "Reply" button. If you find a thread useful, feel free to click the "Thanks" button to let the original poster know that you benefited from their knowledge.

If a similar thread does not already exist, review the forum categories to determine which one is the best fit for your post. When creating a new thread, use a useful "Title" name to describe your problem or question -- remember, other users may be researching a similar issue and you want them to find your thread. Include enough details in your message so that others can quickly understand what you are experiencing -- otherwise, they will have to ask you additional questions to understand your problem. Make sure you are subscribed to your thread so that you will receive a notification when someone responds to it.

You can ask a question by clicking on the "New Thread" button in the forum category that most closely matches your question. For example, if you are having problems with your video settings, you should create a new thread in the "Graphics Card" forum. If you do not see a category that matches your question, try the "General Support" category.

In addition to the forums available from the PC-BSD® Forums website, the following forums may assist you in troubleshooting your PC-BSD® system:

FreeBSD Forums[62]: many PC-BSD® problems are related to the underlying FreeBSD operating system. The FreeBSD forums are very active and full of useful information that can apply to your PC-BSD® system.

BSD Foren[63]: these forums are in German and contain many categories for each of the BSD operating systems.